Saturday, February 22, 2014

In 1926, Edmond R Amateis won a competition for two sculptures to sit on pedestals outside the War Memorial Building in Baltimore. His entry was for a pair horses with long aquatic tails which he described "mythological sea horses".

R A Baillie carved the final sculptures which included symbolic elements representing Baltimore, Maryland, the army and the navy. The right hand sculpture has an eagle and the Baltimore city seal between the front legs of the sea horse representing the army. The other horse, pictured above, includes an osprey and the state seal of Maryland to represent the navy.

The sea horses were completed in time for the dedication of the War Memorial Plaza on November 11, 1927.

3 comments:

If the war memorial sculptures had been done during the 1914-18 war, they would not have been Deco. So in one way it was fortunate that WW1 memorials were not designed until the late 1920s and early 1930s. By that time, WW1 memorials and Deco were firmly connected.

Good point Helen. It this case, as I suspect in quite a few others, it was the length of time taken to complete the War Memorial Building itself that pushed it clearly into the Deco period. In Baltimore the War Memorial Building was not started until 1921 and then not dedicated until 1925 so the plaza and sculptures came after that.

MELBOURNE ART DECO
In 2009 Robin Grow published a book on Melbourne Art Deco, with images largely supplied by David Thompson. The book quickly sold out and he is pleased to say that it has now been re-published by Brolga Press, with updates, errors corrected and a new cover.

Best of all, it is selling for about $25 in the shops and on-line. Art Deco & Modernism Society members can purchase a copy from me for $22, (includes postage within Australia). For overseas orders please email for postage rates. Contact me at robingrow@ozemail.com.au if you are interested, and advise if you would like the book to be dedicated and/or signed.